Aloe Vera – no other herb is used as versatile as this one. People all over the world are fascinated by this plant and are getting more and more crazy about it. Over the internet you can order a huge variety of products that contain Aloe Vera – in Costa Rica it is growing right on the doorstep.

There are many legends about the Aloe Vera plant. Even Alexander the Great is said to have used it to treat the wounds of his soldiers, and according to a more well-known legend, Aloe Vera has been responsible for the incredibly soft and beautiful skin of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

But what is it, which makes this plant so special?

The original home of Aloe Vera is Mexico (Yucatan), Brazil, Cuba, Africa and the Canary Islands – generally countries with summer months in which no rain falls for months and which therefore are characterized by an extremely hot summer climate. Due to these difficult living conditions, the Aloe Vera plant is dependent on the formation of its own nutrients and filling the moisture storage in its leaves.

These nutrients can be used for many different complaints either internally or externally. The list of application areas is incredibly long, so here only a few examples are mentioned.

The gel of Aloe Vera, which acts moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, emollient and soothing, you can apply externally for the treatment of sunburns, burns, insect bites, scrapes and much more. Internally, you can take the gel, if one suffers from ailments like diabetes, elevated blood lipids, cough, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable stomach or heartburn, or wants to strengthen his immune system.

Furthermore it is also possible to use the resin of the Aloe Vera, which is however slightly toxic. It has a laxative and digestive effect and is, as expected, used for constipation.

A tip: The Aloe Vera can also easily be grown at home! So if you don’t want to spend your money on the various products and prefer to harvest it yourself, you can easily get a plant in a hardware store or garden center. Unfortunately it is not cheap, but with proper care it can get as old as 10 years. The Aloe Vera needs sandy soil that is well drained, because it is a desert plant. If growing in a pot it needs shade, so it is quite suitable for growing in the house. If the leaves are large enough (plants over 2 years old), you can cut them if necessary. There should, however, always at least 12 leaves remain standing, so that the plant can continue to develop well. Once the leaves of a self-cultivated aloe plant are large enough, they can be cut individually and you can use the gel contained therein.